The Statistical View: Mohamed Salah

I think it’s fair to say Mohamed Salah has been the best player in the Premier League this season, and rightfully so he has picked up PFA Player of the Season. But how has Salah contributed statistically this season?

On the Offensive

Firstly, Salah’s goal scoring record is second to none in the league, his 31 Premier League goals in 31 Premier League starts is nothing short of remarkable. Having played 2574 minutes, it means he averages a goal every 86 minutes compared to his average last season of a goal every 166 minutes, in Serie A. Salah averages more shots per goal this season with 4 compared to his previous season where he averaged 2.6, this isn’t so surprising as goalkeepers in the Premier League tend to be of higher quality. Overall his goal record has possibly been the best ever and rightfully the reason he won Player of the Season.

However, Salah has fewer league assists this season by 2 (with 9). With that stat it’s hardly surprising that his key passes are down by 0.4 this season compared to last, ‘Mo’ has 1.7 key passes per game this season when the season previous he averaged 2.3.

With the Ball

Salah’s dribbles per game have almost doubled this season where he averages 2.3 in the Premier League compared to 1.2 in Serie A last season. If this was to be compared with one of the better dribblers in the league Eden Hazard it shows that Salah comes up short as Eden averages nearly three times the amount per game with 6.17 successful take-ons per game. It’s definitely an area that he can improve however if his dribbles are efficiently turned into goals then it’s clear it’s a huge strength for him.

Comparison to the Premier League’s most consistent winger

Firstly, it’s clear that Salah’s best attribute this season has been his goal scoring while Eden’s best has been his take-ons and it’s clear that both are easily better at their main attribute. Eden Hazard has more chances created as quite comfortably ahead of Salah with 124 all season, as well as this Hazard’s ‘distribution’ is a long way ahead of Salah’s this season and the graph shows that. RG and RC are irrelevant for attacking players as these are rated off defensive actions in preventing a goal. Overall Hazard has once again had a fantastic season and beats Salah in all bar goal scoring however it’s clear that it wasn’t Hazard’s best season while Salah has been fantastic this season. It’s important to remember Hazard missed preseason and the first few months of the season with a serious injury.

How does Salah compare to the rest of the League?

Salah averages a rating of 7.76 in the league which is third best just 0.01 above Eden Hazard. Kevin De Bruyne and Sergio Aguero have a higher rating with 7.87 and 7.81 respectively. Salah currently leads the goalscoring charts with 31 goals in 31 games 5 ahead of Harry Kane (let’s be honest it’s 6 really). Salah also ranks joint 7th for assists with 9 alongside Christian Eriksen. However, Salah’s shot efficiency isn’t the best as he averages the second highest shots per goal in the league, once again behind Harry Kane with 4 shots per goal while Kane averages 5.1 per goal. Salah ranks joint 159th for pass success rate with 76.8% alongside West Brom’s Allan Nyom. Finally, Salah ranks join 2nd for most Man of the Match awards won in the Premier League this season, one behind Harry Kane and joint with Kevin De Bruyne and Eden Hazard.

Overall, it’s clear to see that Mohamed Salah has had a fantastic season returning to the Premier League and rightfully he won PFA Player of the Season last night. His 31 goals in 31 games is remarkable and simply unmatched. Salah also returned to England with a lot of doubters however this season has clearly put to bed any doubts they previously had about his ability.